It’s finally here, the camera that many Sony shooters have been waiting for. The update to the gateway camera that convinced many to switch over to Sony’s system. Today, Sony has announced the new Sony Alpha A7III. With 4K video, dual card slots, 693 autofocus points, and 10fps continuous shooting, it’s a nice little boost over the previous generation Sony A7II – a camera which is now heavily discounted, by the way.
Looking like a cut-down Sony A9, the A7III also has pretty ridiculous battery life – for a mirrorless camera, at least. Boasting 710 shots on a full charge it beats everything else out there in mirrorlessland, and is stepping into DSLR territory. It also has an increased ISO range of 100-51200, expandable ISO50-204800 with 5-axis in-body stabilisation, effective up to 5 stops.
The A7III features a new back-illuminated full-frame 24MP sensor, allegedly the same sensor that’s contained within the flagship Sony A9. So, it’s about the same resolution as its predecessor, but that new design increases the ISO capability and throughput. Throughput that allows the A7III to double the A7II’s continuous shooting speed from 5fps to 10fps.
An updated Type-C USB3.1 port allows for fast transfer for tethered shooting, and at least the B&H listing suggests that we might finally have a Sony camera with weather sealing. I don’t see any mention of that on Sony’s website, though. And yes, those relying on the Sony A7III to keep a roof over their head and food on their table will be pleased to know that it features dual SD card slots.
- Sensor: Full-frame CMOS
- Resolution: 24.2MP
- Mount: Sony E-Mount
- AF points: 693 phase detection, 425 contrast detection
- Eye-AF: Available even with continuous autofocus
- Continuous shooting: up to 10fps
- IBIS: 5-axis optical in-body image stabilisation (5 stop benefit)
- Video: 4K 24/25/30fps with no crop or pixel binning
- Battery life: 710 shots per charge
- LCD: 3.0″ 922K-dot tilting touchscreen
- EVF: 2.359MP with 100% coverage
- Storage: UHS-II compatible Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC card slots
- Dimensions: 127.0 x 99.1 x 76.2mm (5.0 x 3.9 x 3.0″)
- Weight: 652g (1.4375lb)
On the back of the A7III, there’s a 3″ 922K pixel tilting touch screen LCD, and the EVF is 2.359MP, with 100% coverage. Continuous 10fps shooting offers buffer space for up to 89 images in raw, and up to 177 when shooting jpg. And thanks to an updated BIONZ X processing engine and the new sensor, it boasts a massive 15 stops of dynamic range at low ISO. Which is, of course, put out in 14Bit RAW in both silent and continuous shooting modes.
Overall it seems a very worthy successor to the A7II. It has some pretty significant upgrades over its predecessor. Obviously, there’s nothing in there that really competes with the Sony A7RIII or A9 for certain users, but it definitely stands up to the needs of many of today’s photographers. At a price tag of just under 2 grand, I can see it easily becoming a favourite for wedding photographers.
And speaking of the A7II, and its price, that has seen a massive reduction since the A7III announcement. B&H currently has the A7II with a free accessory kit (basically a bag and a 32GB SanDisk Extreme Pro) for a mere $1,098. That’s $500 off the regular price. The A7II with battery grip sees a slightly larger $550 reduction, dropping from $2,046 to $1,496.
The A7III, on the other hand, is priced at $1,998. And while pre-orders aren’t quite open just yet, you can sign up to be notified when it becomes available, which is expected to be some time in April.
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